Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking has welcomed "colourful bird" Nicklas Bendtner to the club, claiming the striker is "exactly the character we have been looking for."

Bendtner, 26, had been a free agent after being released by the Gunners at the end of last season but had failed to find a club, with a number of deals falling through.

But Wolfsburg have now swooped for the Denmark international, having been thwarted in their attempts to sign more high-profile forwards including Mario Mandzukic and Romelu Lukaku

Bendtner penned a performance-based, three-year deal with Wolfsburg on Friday.

"We think that we've made a good choice, and that he will score quite a few goals for us," Wolfsburg chief executive Klaus Allofs said, explaining that Wolfsburg had considered the pros and cons of the deal, and came to the conclusion "that there are far more pros."

Bendtner's new coach Hecking was pleased to have captured the controversial striker and insisted he was unperturbed by the striker's reputation for attracting headlines on and off the pitch.

"He is a colorful bird, but that can also be good," Hecking said. "I think every person deserves a chance to make a fresh start. I did not like what was immediately pulled out of the drawer.

"Please allow him to arrive first, allow to show what he is capable of. I am convinced that he can help us reach our goals [to break into the Bundesliga top four] once he is fully fit."

TRANSFERS BY LEAGUE

Bendtner, who made his last competitive club appearance in early Feburary when Arsenal beat Crystal Palace, said: "I think I am in pretty good shape. The last year did not go as I had imagined it. I was patient, and waited for the right offer.

"The Bundesliga is an outstanding league, which has taken a great development in the past four, five years. The World Cup has shown how good German football is. That's why it is exactly the right decision to come here this season."

Bendtner revealed that he had taken the unusual step of picking the No. 3 shirt because his mother had wanted him to, and also said that he would now start learning German.

"As a kid I learnt German in school, and that's why I don't think it will take too long until I will be able to speak it," Bendtner added.